


And So Ai Met Them

by Dove_of_Peace



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Ai does not know he's a robot, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Feels, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Panic Attacks, Potential OOCness, Reiji and Ai friendship only, Suicide Attempt, no nanami haruka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-02-16 10:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2266851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dove_of_Peace/pseuds/Dove_of_Peace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ai wakes up in the hospital after his *cough*Aine's*cough* suicide attempt with no knowledge of who he is. This is the story of Quartet Night, friendship, and unlikely romances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dream World

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is a short chapter more to come soon.

He was in a green field, the warm sun beating down on him. It was always the same field. He didn’t know how he got there but it was a happy place, for the most part. The birds around him happily chirping out a steady beat. The wind whispering all around him. On occasion it would rain. The sky never changed, there were never any clouds. But all of a sudden big fat raindrops would fall down onto his face. The wind howls. If he listened closely he almost could hear weeping and a voice saying to come back. He never understood where this voice wanted him to go. Where could he possibly go? The field went on forever and he was the only person there. This was his paradise, why would he ever want to leave? On other days the breeze carried the sound of laughter to his ears. Many people having a fun time, the sound of indistinct chatter. Still in the eternal spring that enveloped the field, he could not help but think that something was missing. That there was more to him out there. That the field was a dream.

The solitude was often welcome. He often thought that before the field his life had been full of people and stress. He had no clue though; all he could remember was the field. On occasion, he felt a foreign feeling creep up on him, shadowing the beautiful summer day. This usually occurred after the sudden storm or when the wind echoed with laughter. It was at those times that he desperately craved someone to break the solitude. It didn’t even have to be human. If the birds swooped out of the trees that surrounded the field, if another animal came out of the trees, maybe the missing part would be filled.

There was no reason as to why he didn’t enter the forest. It was like one of those rules that your mother told you when you were too young to remember, but have always subconsciously followed. Whenever he walked towards the trees, they grew dark and foreboding and a little voice in his mind whispered that today was not the day to change his habits. So off he walked back into the sunlight.  
Occasionally the wind sounded different. He would catch words like heartbeat and pulse. He could understand that, although he couldn’t understand why they were showing up in his paradise. Other times he couldn’t make heads or tails of the words. Phrases like mind link and emphatic feedback. Oh he understood the words, however, he did not know what they could possibly have to do with him. What was an “emphatic feedback” and what did it have to do with his paradise.

At times he thought of leaving his paradise. He did not have the first clue on how to start and he doubted that he ever would attempt it. Despite knowing something was missing at times. He couldn’t imagine a world that wasn’t the field. However, every time that he thought of that the sudden storm would come again or the laughter would resound out of the trees and he thought of leaving again. 

At a random time he suddenly got the urge to walk towards the trees again. As the little voice in his head started to talk, a storm broke out. The sounds of sorrow started anew. But it was different somehow, almost as if the speaker was giving up hope. So he kept walking, ignoring the little voice in his head, because for some strange, odd reason, whoever that voice was, he didn’t want to disappoint them. As he walked the trees became thicker, soon blotting out the sun and stopping the rain from reaching his face. Soon the forest became pitch black and the wind had grown stronger. He could clearly make out words that the voice was saying. A constant litany of “Please, please come back, wake up, you have to wake up.” The pleasant chirping of the birds steadily grew more shrill and grating, eventually becoming a steady, high pitched beep.


	2. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SOOO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!! My computer decided that it didn't want to connect to the internet. But it's fixed now thanks to the best roommate in the world!

The darkness kept growing and growing, until his eyes flew open. That was weird. He didn’t remember closing his eyes at all. A harsh whiteness blinded him, and as he was blinking fastly a face came into view. Big fawn colored eyes were staring down at him, lips moving fastly. Rapid babbling hit his ears backed up by a chorus of machine beeps. Suddenly a door slammed and the fawn eyed man whipped his head around. An older man had just thrown the door open. His grey-brown hair looked like he rolled out of bed, huge glasses dominated his face and blocked out his eyes. The new man’s mouth was moving, clearly speaking, he could hear the words but they made no sense. He felt his eyes slowly closing to a cacophony of sounds, the steady beep of the machines and the combined voices of the two men in the room, and he slipped into darkness.

       

        When his eyes opened the next time, he was alone in the room. There was a slow and steady beep on one side of the bed. He heard a door slowly creak open. As he turned his head, he saw a nurse enter the room again. “Ah, good, you’re awake,” she said.

“What happened? Who are you? Where am I?”

“I’ll be right back,” she said as she scurried out the door. When she returned she was followed by the older man that he remembered from the last time he woke up.

“How are you doing today?” The man asked him. “Silly question, What do you last remember?”

“I remember waking up, I have no clue how long ago, there was a man sitting next to the bed, um brown eyes, brown hair, highly energetic. You also came in and then I woke up now.” The man made a note on a clipboard.

“What is the last day you remember before waking up here?” He thought and thought, and then he started panicking. The monitors beside him started beeping rapidly. “What’s wrong? Calm down. It was just a question.”

Shakily he replied, “I do not remember anything before waking up here.”

“Don’t worry, retrograde amnesia is not an unusual occurrence given the circumstances. It should clear up the more you are around things from your past.”

“But I don’t even remember my name.”

“Your name? Your name is Ai, Ai Mikaze.”

The next day the nurse walked in followed by the fawn-eyed man. “Hellooooooo, Ai-ai!” He called enthusiastically.

“And you are?”

“Wahhhh, Ai-ai doesn’t remember me.”

“That is the problem of having amnesia.”

“Ai-ai doesn’t love me.”

“Who are you and why are you calling me Ai-ai?”

“I’m Reiji Kotobuki, and I’ve always called you Ai-ai”

“Why are you here?”

“Because I miss my Ai-ai!!! I come here every day to see you.”     

 

After Reiji left for the day with promises to return the next day on his tongue, the Doctor came in. “I thought it was time to update you on our plan for your treatment. You’ve lost a lot of muscle, approximately 15 pounds. Physical therapy is going to be incredibly important. Our first priority is going to building up your arm muscles so you can feed yourself. Then we’ll move on to building up your leg muscles so you can walk again. Throughout this you’ll also be receiving tutoring on pop culture, technological advances, and social interactions. Once you’ve built up the muscles to an acceptable level there will be brief interactions with outings to coffee shops and the ilk, just quick trips to get you used to people again. Any questions?”

Ai was overwhelmed with the information and plan. There was so much to do and learn. He would never be able to catch up. He would never leave the hospital. Reiji, as vexing as he could be, would eventually get sick of seeing no progress made and would slowly stop visiting. And Ai would eventually be as alone as he was in the field, but this time he would feel the pain of being alone.

 


	3. In Which Many People are Introduced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai and Reiji bonding and the introduction of Quartet Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so short. After this they should all be longer.

Ai fell asleep that night plagued by those troubling thoughts. The next day he woke up to the soft click of the door. He looked up and saw Reiji and all of the previous night’s thoughts came flying back into his mind. But now, instead of convincing him that there was nothing he could ever do to catch up, they inspired him to try his hardest. He would catch up and nothing could stop him.  
“Hi Ai-ai!!! You ready for lunch!” Ai then noticed that Reiji was carrying a tray.  
“Is it already time for luncheon? I would think the hour more suitable for breakfast.”  
“Well you were a sleepy head today, it’s already almost 11, so I suppose it’s more of an elevensies than a lunch. After all you’re going on a hobbit style diet so you can get healthy faster.”  
“Hobbit style diet?”  
“Yeah, well starting tomorrow there will be breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, Lunch, tea, dinner, and supper, at the very least.”  
“Seven meals, are you quite sure that is necessary?”  
“Doctors orders Ai-ai. But don’t forget if you’re up late there will also be a midnight snack. Now let’s get you eating before the food gets cold.” Reiji grabbed Ai’s hand and wrapped it around the fork, “Now the doctor said that your muscles aren’t built up enough to feed yourself, so I’ll just support and guide your hand to help build up your muscles, I mean if that’s what you want.” Reiji all of a sudden looked upset at something but he soon forced that back and beamed at Ai.  
“Of course your assistance does not bother me. The doctor has already informed me of the plan he has developed for my recovery. Thus I was already planning on accepting your offer to help.”  
“Ai-ai if you already knew, why didn’t you say so?”  
“That would be for a multitude of reasons. The first being that you make it incredibly difficult for anyone to stop you once you start talking. The second being that I thought that it ought to be obvious that I would need assistance. I have been in a coma, thus my entire muscular system has deteriorated.” At this Reiji flinched and ai continued, “Lastly, I am to be bedridden for the foreseeable future, I must take my amusement where I am able to find it.”  
Reiji suddenly exploded with laughter, and Ai’s face twisted in confusion. Once Reiji noticed the other’s confused expression, he reined in his laughter and explained, "You haven't changed a bit Ai-ai." When the confusion didn't leave Ai's face, he elaborated, "You always enjoyed letting me ramble on and once I had finished telling me that you already knew what I just told you."  
Ai nodded in understanding. "I see... Now I believe you mentioned food earlier?"  
"Wahhhhhh... My Ai-ai must be starving. I'm such a bad friend." The rest of the day passed in a similar fashion. Ai would mention something and Reiji would overreact. Reiji left just as Ai was falling asleep with promises to return the next day on his lips. Upon walking outside Reiji paused for a moment. "I wonder if I should have mentioned bringing the guys with me tomorrow?" He shrugged, "oh well, too late now." And he walked off into the fading light.

The next day he woke up, stretched and sank back into his pillows. Then he sat straight up in bed. Today was the day. He hurried through his morning routine and was knocking on Ran-ran's door in fifteen minutes. The silver haired man yanked the door open. "What do you want!" He growled as he rubbed at the sleep in his eyes and attempted to glare.   
Reiji beamed at him and, bouncing on the balls of his feet, replied, "Ran-ran! Guess what today is? Come on. Guess! Guess!"  
"It's too early for this shit, Reiji, why don't you just tell me why you're here and then I can go back to sleep."  
"Well you can't go back to sleep. Hurry up and get dressed. We still need to wake up Mu-chan before we go to see Ai-ai! Why are you still standing there? Get a move on it!"  
The door closed and reopened not even five minutes later. "Alright let's get this thing over with." And with that they left.  
Fifteen minutes later Reiji was bounding up to another door. Just as he was preparing to pound, I mean knock, on the door it opened to a platinum blond. "Mu-chan are you ready to go?"  
"As much as anyone ever is when dealing with you." The blond closed the door and walked past Reiji to greet the silver-haired man, "Kurosaki," he said with a nod.  
"Princess," the other replied.  
Reiji hopped down the steps and linked arms with the other two men. "Come on let's go see Ai-ai!" He said as he started to drag them down the street.


	4. In Which Everyone Meets Ai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji drags Camus and Ranmaru into Ai's hospital room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys I'm sorry this was so delayed. It still needs editing but I wanted to get this up ASAP because now I'm heading into finals week at school so updates aren't really going to be a thing. As always constructive criticism is always welcome.

Ai had just awoken when Reiji burst through the door dragging two men behind him. "Morning Ai-ai!" Reiji yelled out, the two men behind him rolling their eyes.

"Kotobuki, there is no need to yell like that," the platinum blond drawled.

 

"What Princess said," the other man concurred.

Ai started to inch away from the three men. Reiji was alright but the other two unsettled Ai."Ran-ran, Mu-chan you're so mean to me," Reiji whined. However, Ai couldn't hear any of this, he was too busy listening to his racing heartbeat.

"Reiji," the silver-haired man growled, "It's not being mean if it's the truth."

"Wahhhh...Ran-ran hates me!" Reiji Wailed, "But at least Ai-ai still loves me! Right Ai-ai??" Reiji beamed proudly while looking at Ranmaru and Camus. The edges of his smile slowly drifting downwards as the time passed with no reply from Ai.

Ai on the other hand was not ignoring Reiji. He simply couldn't hear him over the blood pounding in his ears. Eventually Reiji turned around, it wasn't like the other boy to not respond. He was greeted by the sight of the other's hands bunched up in the sheets beside him, gaze straight ahead. His breath was coming out in short, audible pants.

Reiji just stared at him, and then he remembered. The Professor had warned him about this.

                                                                                                                                    *Flashback*

"Now in the beginning, Ai will not be used to people. Anyone who is to be introduced to him must be introduced slowly and with great care, or he might have a panic attack."

Reiji nodded enthusiastically. "You can count on me Professor!"

                                                                                                                               *End Flashback*

"What's wrong with him?" The silver-haired man asked with a derisive nod in Ai's direction.

"Wahhhh... I'm such a bad friend!" Reiji cried out.

"What did you do this time?" The blond asked.

"It's all my fault." Reiji continued seemingly not paying attention to the questions asked. "Ai-ai's having a panic attack and it's all my fault. Wahhhhh.... I forgot. I wasn't supposed to overwhelm him with people and now he's having a panic attack and it's all my fault!"

Ranmaru started to yell at Reiji. Camus looked over at the boy on the bed. Everytime Ranmaru raised his voice the boy flinched. He had to do something before those two buffoons caused him to become completely agoraphobic. He slowly started to approach the bed. The boy did not appear to notice, he just kept flinching every time Ranmaru shouted. 'The yelling has to stop or the boy will never calm down' Camus thought.

Camus left the bedside and walked back over to Reiji and Ranmaru. He dragged both of them out of the room and into the hallway. The two men stared at him in shock. "You two will stay out here until you get this yelling and hysteria out of your system." He walked back into the room and closed the door in their incredulous faces.

After smirking slightly at the door he turned around to look at the boy on the bed. He was still sitting in the same position, the only change was that he had started to tremble slightly. Camus slowly started to move towards the bed but the trembling boy took no notice. "Reiji is such a forgetful fool." He muttered as he pulled his phone out. Mere seconds later the sound of cello filled the room. A while passed and Camus heard the door creak open. He turned with a glare and the temperature of the room dropped and the door slammed shut again. He turned back to the bed with a smirk only to be confronted by wondering teal eyes. "I am sorry that Reiji is such an idiot." The boy bristled at that comment and opened his mouth to defend his friend, but before he could say a word Camus cut him off. "No he was an idiot to think it a smart idea to bring two strangers into the hospital room of someone he knows is prone to panic attacks."

'So that's what that was.' Ai thought. 'I had no idea that it felt like that.'

"I just realized that the idiot never bothered to introduce us. My name is Camus. And you are?"

"Ai, Ai Mikaze."

"Well Ai, if you want I can open the door and let the two loud-mouths back in, or we can make them sweat a little bit and make them wait outside for a while longer."

Just then there was a loud banging on the door. "Mu-chan let us in!" Reiji's voice drifted through the door.

"Yeah Princess, open the damn door," Ranmaru's voice quickly followed.

Camus looked at Ai as if to ask if he wanted them to come in. As Ai nodded Camus rose from his seat by the bed and crossed the room to the door. With a glance at Ai, he smirked and yanked the door open and Reiji and Ranmaru fell through from where they had clearly been resting against the door. Reiji whined, "Mu-chan why are you so mean???"

"I simply was doing as Ai asked and letting you in the room. It is not my fault that you were leaning against the door."

Reiji ignored Camus and bounded over to Ai's bedside. "Ai-ai I'm so sorry!!! I completely forgot to let you know I was bringing Mu-chan and Ran-ran over with me today. It's all my fault. Please don't hate me." Reiji wailed and then in a complete change of attitude smiled and said, "Oh I forgot to introduce you. You already know Camus," he gestured towards the platinum blond, "but he prefers Mu-chan,"

"No I do not prefer your idiotic nickname for me." Camus interrupted.

"And this is Ran-ran." Reiji continued as if Camus said nothing and gestured towards the silver-haired man.

"Kotobuki, you are the only person who calls me that. My name is Ranmaru."

"Ignore them Ai-ai. They grumble but they really adore my nicknames for them."

"No we don't!" The two men yelled.  

Ai flinched as they turned to face him. Ranmaru gave him an assessing glare before turning away with a huff. "Whatever, I'm out, Kotobuki, Princess," and then he walked out the door.

"Ahhh hahaha," Reiji laughed nervously, "Ran-Ran is just super busy Ai-ai, it's nothing you did."

Ai nodded at Reiji but inside he knew that it was his fault.


	5. Where the Past, Present, and Future Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai learns about his past and there is a surprise visit from an important character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the story is coming off of hiatus, I finally have a new computer so baring writer's block updates should be more reliable.

The next few weeks were dedicated to awkward visits from Ranmaru and Camus. Ai was still constantly on edge with them. Every sudden move from Camus or dismissive look from Ranmaru almost sent him into a panic. It was only that bad because Reiji had cut back on his visits to the hospital. Instead of coming every day, he showed up about once a week. This added to the fact that Ai still could not remember anything, made him doubt the fact that Reiji still cared. Little did Ai know that the Doctor had told Reiji that Ai needed to spend time with people without him being there. In hopes of jogging Ai’s memory, the Doctor decided that it was time to tell Ai a little bit about his past. So one morning the Doctor came in and sat down. Ai looked over at him quizically. "Doctor what seems to be the problem?" He asked.

"Ai," the Doctor sighed, "Your amnesia has not showed any sign of improving. I believe that it's time that you were told about your past."

"I thought that I was to try to remember the past myself?"

"I'm hoping that by telling you some of your past, it will jog your memory."

 

* * *

 

"Your mother was my older sister. When she married your father, they both were so happy and it only got better when she found out she was pregnant with you. One summer, when you were five, they rented a boat for the day. No one told them that a storm was coming in that day. Appearantly it came out of nowhere. One minute the sea was calm and flat, the next the little boat was being tossed about on the waves. I don't know what happened next. All I know is that the next day I got a call, saying that they had both passed on and I had custody of you. You were always a quiet child but somehow you got quieter after that. Then one day out of the blue you announced that you had enrolled into Saotome Academy and were going to become an idol. And just like any other parent I was terrified."

He abrubtly stood up and walk out of the room, brushing past Reiji.

 

* * *

 

 

Reiji looked over his shoulder quizically. "What's wrong with the Doctor?" He asked Ai.

"I have no idea." Ai responded with a confused look on his face. "He decided to tell me a little of my past in hopes that it jogged my memories.'

"Oh well that explains it." Ai cocked his head in question. "Talking about that always upsets him. So did it ring any bells?"

"No, but it is nice to know about my past."

"Well you know we went to Saotome Academy together."

"We did?"

"Yeah it's where we met, we were roommates."

"We were?"

"Did I not tell you this?"

"Well this is the first I've heard of it."

"Well do I have a story for you."

                                  *Flash back*

It was the opening ceremony for Saotome Academy. Reiji had just arrived when he saw a blue-haired boy around his age walking through the enterance. He ran up to the boy and threw his arm around the other's shoulders. "So do you know where we're supposed to go?" He asked.

The blue-haired boy shrugged Reiji's arm off his shoulder before he answered, "Well common scense says that we follow everone else."

The other boy hurried on while Reiji stopped and looked at the ground. As the boy walked out of hearing range, Reiji whispered to himself, "Oh I forgot, people don't like me touching them." And started dejectedly walking towards the rest of the group.

After the opening ceremony, Reiji started off towards the dormitories. When he reached his room, the door was already open. He walked in with a big smile on his face, eager to greet his roommate. "Hell~." the greeting died in his throat as the blue-haired boy looked up at him.

"So you are my roommate, my name is Ai." The boy said dryly.

Reiji quickly recovered from the surprise, "Hi Ai-ai, I'm Reiji!" He exclaimed as he bounded over to the other boy. He stopped just before he hugged Ai.

                      *End Flashback**

"And that's how we met, Ai-ai."

"So what happened after that?"

"Well we both went through the Academy, we graduated top of our class, and went on to our idol careers.

 

* * *

 

 

"So how did I wake up here?" Ai asked.

Just then manical laughter filled the room. Ai searched the room for the source of the sound while Reiji just sighed. Suddenly a man swung through the window. "Ohhohoho, Mr. Mikaze..." he drawled. Ai stared at him blinking. "It is time." He said ominously.

"Time for what, President?" Reiji asked.

"Time for Quartet Night!" He said as he rolled out a poster, that showed Ai, Reiji, Camus, and Ranmaru.

"What is Quartet Night?" Ai asked.

"The latest music sensation. Or it will be once you're out of the hospital."

"WHAT!?!?!?" Both Ai and Reiji shout, but Shining had already jumped out the window.

 

* * *

 

 

Ai looked over to Reiji, "Does that me what I think it means?"

"Yay! We get to be in a boy band with Mu-chan and Ran-ran."

Ai's eyes widened that the prospect and he started to shiver. He couldn't even deal with leaving this room, how was he supposed to be an idol. All the pressure, all the people, all the questions that he didn't even know the answers to. "I can't do this," he said in a panic.

"Of course you can Ai-ai! I'll be right there with you." Reiji reassured him.

"I cannot even leave this room. How am I supposed to get the recording studio, nevermind do a concert? It's impossible!"

"Of course it isn't. You have me, Mu-chan, and Ran-ran to help you. So we should start right away. I'll go talk to the others." Reiji said as he ran out of the room.


	6. The First Trip Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camus and Ai head out of the hospital for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So updates should happen fairly regularly because I'm finally out of school for the summer.

Ai looked up as Camus strolled into the room.  Suddenly a bag was under his nose, “Get dressed,” Camus barked.

“Is there a reason for me to get dressed?”

“Well you’re going to have to leave the room, sooner rather than later so we might as well start now.”

“I do not think…..” Ai started.

“Yeah, well, you have to. The President wants this “Quartet Night” to start as soon as possible. He’s being patient, for now, however, he wants the debut within the year. The better you get around people, the easier it will be when we start.” Camus cut in.

“I suppose you are correct. I shall be ready shortly.”

In a few short minutes, Camus was leading Ai out of the hospital and into the bustling crowd of the city.

 

In a café across town, a small blond boy was having a terrible day. He was sitting in the kitchen with the back door propped open, breathing heavily. Another blond bounced into the room with a beaming smile on his face. “Syo-chan, isn’t today great.”

“Oh yes, I love it when my heart acts up.” The other boy sarcastically panted out.

“Syo-chan, do I need to call Saa-chan and Kao-chan?”

“Natsuki, I will be fine there is no need to call Kaoru.”

“But Syo-chan, you don’t look to well.”

“Well,” Syo had to think quickly. The last thing he needed was his mother-hen of a younger brother coming and insisting he go to the hospital. “If you call them, then we won’t be able to hang out that much. They’ll insist that I go to the hospital and you know that normally means that I can’t do anything or see anyone for at least a week.”

“But Syo-chan that would be terrible!”

“I know, but you know how over protective our brothers are. If Kaoru hears me so much as sneeze, I have to go to the doctor’s. Imagine if he knew I was out of breath at work. I probably would have to quit and stay home until we went off to high school.”

“Alright Syo-chan, you just sit and rest until you feel better. I’ll cover the front.” And with that Natsuki bounded out of the kitchen into the crowded dining area of The Mad Hatter.

‘That was close,’ Syo thought as his heart started to slow back down to normal. ‘It would have been terrible if I actually fainted. Kaoru would never let me out of the house again. I would have had to start sneaking out again, and even that would have been more difficult. Well, I shouldn’t stress over what could have been. I’m just lucky Natsuki believed me when I said I was fine.’ He looked up at the clock and slowly stood up. ‘I should get back to work, it’s not like it’s that difficult,’ and he strode out into the busy tea house.

 

A few minutes away, Camus was dragging Ai down a crowded street. “Camus, I do not think this is the best idea.”

“Calm down Mikaze, we’ll be there soon and then you will not even notice the people.”

“Where are we even going?”

“You will see soon enough.”

Suddenly, Camus side-stepped into a tiny shop. Ai caught a quick glimpse of the sign shaped like a teapot pouring tea into a top hat. The scent of smoky spices filled the air. A young, blond man was standing behind a counter wearing a waist coat with a top hat. His green eyes were sparkling and a smile graced his face. “Helloooo Camus,” he called out. “Who’s you’re friend?” The young man ran around the counter to peer into Ai’s face. “He’s cu-” he was cut off as an identical young man pulled him away towards the counter.

“Natsuki, how many times have I told you that you need to respect personal space.”

“But Saa-chan…”

“Don’t ‘but Saa-chan’ me.” He scolded as he marched the other back behind the counter. “You stay here and stop scaring people.” Natsuki sat down dejectedly and sighed. The other walked back over towards Camus and Ai. “Hello Camus, who’s your friend?” Natsuki started to get up from his seat, when the other turned around and glared at him.

“This is Ai Mikaze,” Camus replied. “Ai, this is Satsuki Shinomiya and his older brother Natsuki is the one behind the counter.”

“I would like to apologize for my imbecile of a brother.” Ai just tilted his head quizzically. Satsuki turned to look at Natsuki, “Why are you even out here?”

“Well, you see…” Natsuki started, “umm, did you hear that? I’ll go check it out.” And he ran out of the room.

“Well let’s go sit down,” Camus said as he dragged Ai towards the back of the shop.

They climbed on to a low curtained platform. Ai felt a panic start to rise up within him. The low clink of cups against saucers sounded like gongs in his ears. Suddenly a book appeared in front of his face. Ai tentatively grabbed it, while the blond holding it was chatting with Camus. “I’ll be right back to take your orders,” the blond said as he walked away. Ai just stared after him in shock. How long had he been spacing out? Camus and the waiter had clearly had a conversation and he had said nothing. What if he had already upset the waiter or worse disappointed Camus? Camus pulled his attention back to the menu in his hands and he opened it up.

As Syo walked away he was fuming. Camus, as usual, was very nice and polite, but his friend, oh he took the cake. He marched into the kitchen and ran right into Natsuki. “Syo-chan, what’s wrong?”

“Camus is here.”

“I thought you liked Camus?”

“Oh I do, he’s not the problem, it’s his ass of a friend that he brought with him.”

“Oh you mean Ai-chan? Ai-chan is super nice.”

“Natsuki,” Syo put his hand on Natsuki’s arm, “You like to see the best in people. I was standing there for a good 10 minutes and he ignored me. The only interaction we had was when he grabbed the menu from my hand. But anyway I need to get back out there, Camus and his Royal Ass-ness probably have their orders ready.”

“Syo-chan you should…” Natsuki trailed off as Syo stalked out the door into the main dining area.

Camus peered over the top of his menu. Ai was holding his menu so tight it was shaking in his hands. Camus internally sighed, he had no idea how to handle this. Just then Syo walked up, “So you guys ready to order,” he asked looking at Ai expectantly.

Ai opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out, slowly his face started to enter a panicked mode that Camus recognized from when he first met Ai in the hospital. Camus interceded before Ai could further descend into panic. “We will have two of my usual order, Syo.”

And with a “Got it!” Syo walked away.

Ai looked at Camus gratefully. “Ai,” Camus started, “Do not forget, there are absolutely no expectations here. If you feel like you cannot handle something just let me know. We are to take this at your pace.”

Syo stalked into the back grumbling under his breath. “What’s wrong Syo-chan?”

“It’s that self-absorbed bastard! He’s pissing me off!”

“Who?”

“His Royal Ass-ness, the bastard wouldn’t even give me his order. Camus had to do it. Why Camus hangs out with an asshole like that is beyond me.”

“Syo-chan, calm down before I call Saa-chan and Kao-chan. And what is the order?”

“Fine, Natsuki, whatever, and two earl greys and the strawberries Camus usually gets.”

A few hours later, Camus strolled back into the hospital room with Ai following dejectedly. Reiji was already sitting in the room. “Ai-ai, you’re back! So how was the um whatever you did today?”

Ai said nothing as he climbed into bed. Reiji turned towards Camus. Camus diplomatically said, “Well, it could have gone a lot worse.”

Ai turned towards Camus, “Why don’t you just say the truth. It was an utter train wreck. I will never do that again. I cannot believe it went that horribly.”

“It was not that bad.”

“Yeah Ai-ai, it couldn’t have been too bad.”

“Yes it can. I was freaking out the minute we stepped into the place and it only got worse from there. I am 99% sure that the waiter hated me.”

“I am sure Syo did not hate you.”

“Whatever, I’m going to bed. Good night.”


End file.
